The creature looked at me and I stared back at him with surprise. At first, I made no movements, but then I noticed how the creature studied my every expression and after a few moments that seemed to linger forever I crept back never losing eye contact and little by little I got right back up and walked backwards.

"You have dared to enter my ship unauthorized! Have you come to face me yourself?" The husky voice of the creature said.

"No! I have come to rescue my father from the Prince of Sha!" I answered.

"Have you?" The creature asked studying me from head to toe. I walked backwards as I felt the cold, yellow eyes stare onto my body.

"Yes and I will not leave until he is set free," I said.

"Is that so? Then maybe you will stay here forever."

"My father is sick. He cannot stay here. He will die," I answered. My heart beat fast and I was trembling with fear embracing my bones, but I wouldn't leave my father here to die.

"He will die regardless," he answered.

"Not if he is attended in a hospital like he should," I said and the creature began to walk around me, staring my every move. He was very tall and strong. He almost seemed like a man when he was in the shadows, but his sudden movements showed that he was something else. I suddenly felt his body next to mine and I barely froze. I could hear his nostrils close to me. His hand touched my hair and he sniffed. I felt my fingers grow numb and my heart grew in speed.

"Why should I care what happens to your father? Your world will be conquered by us and you will all become slaves."

"I assure you that we will not surrender so easily. You will find resistance among our kind," I said. Then I felt the creature walk close to me again and face me with incredible speed.

"Really? Will you resist me?" He asked and I shuddered. He grinned and then I answered.

"Why do you speak in terms of war? I said that I have not come here to face you, but to set my father free or do you lack intelligence?" Suddenly, he roared with such anger that I thought that the walls would crumble around me and that the ceiling would fall right on me. He had such a strong lion roar that for a moment my knees buckled and surely, I knew that I would die devoured by this savage. He had six long fangs, three on each side and his long cape ruffled as he moved. Suddenly his long dark nails scratched a wall beside me and I saw shreds of rock fall onto the ground. I jerked back terrified at his claws.

"Have you come here to insult me? The prince of Sha?" He roared, but I spoke higher. I would not show my fear, no matter how afraid I truly was. The beast would only see my courage and nothing more.

"I have come to reason with you and if you are as intelligent as you claim to be then you must be reasonable," I said. This beast of a creature suddenly stopped and frowned with a thoughtful stare. His golden eyes were somewhere else and I knew that my words had somehow stung into his mind.

"I am reasonable human. What do you offer?"

"I offer you peace," I said.

"Are you the leader of your people? Are you a queen?" I shook my head.

"No."

"Then you cannot offer what you do not have."

"I offer myself," I heard myself saying. Did I really say that?

"Yourself?" He wondered.

"Yes. I will take my father's place," I answered.

"You? You would take your father's place? You know that if you do, you will stay here forever... in this ship," he said glancing at me with suspicion.

"Yes. I'm aware of the conditions," I said.

"And still you would stay? Knowing that you will never return to see your family or your planet?" He asked me. The question shocked me for a moment. I realized that I was giving up more than just myself. I was giving up my life, my future and my dreams. I was giving up the warmth of the sun and the breeze of the wind. I was giving up on the trees, the sea, the rain and the Earth. I was giving up on the noise of the city on and my home. I would have to say goodbye everyone I ever knew and everyone I would never get to meet, the places that I loved and the places I that I would never get to see. I was giving up on food, drink, chats and laughs. Never again would I ever read stories, books or the fairy tales that touched my heart or listen to the music that yearned when I ached. I was giving up on new encounters and friends; on the soul mate I would never meet and on the moments that would take my breath away, but if all of that meant that I could save my father then it was worth giving it all up.

"Yes," I said with tears in my eyes. Goodbye dad... goodbye Brian... Chandra... Randolph and even the annoying Luke Stevens who didn't seem so annoying to me in this moment. Maybe he really did care for me. I guess that now I would never know.

"Very well. Tiatini, Pantu," he roared and I heard heavy and mechanical footsteps. Rox approached us.

"Release the detestable human. She will take his place," the prince said. Rox walked just a few feet away from us and he pressed on the walls again and the wall slid right up. I couldn't believe that I was so close to my father, yet so far away from him. I didn't know how their doors worked or where they were at all and therefore I could have never released him by myself no matter how much I wanted to.

"Dad!" I yelled as my father was being yanked out of the room.

"Anabella? What the hell is going on Rox? I told you to get her out of here," my father said as Rox pulled him out into the corridor and passed me by. I screamed for my father and ran to him. I barely touched his hand when the alien grabbed my elbow.

"Wait!" I yelled.

"Take your hands off her!"

"You dare challenge me again?" The alien blasted and roared with anger. Then he yanked me to the ground and ran abnormally fast towards my father.

"We have an agreement! If you hurt him the agreement is off. You have me to harm," I yelled.

"Anabella? What the hell are you talking about?" My father asked.

"Send him away now!" The prince shouted holding himself. I scrambled back up and tried to go to my father, but it was too late. I tried to follow him, but when I arrived at the corner of the corridor I had lost him. I could only hear his faint voice from a distance, but I couldn't hear his words anymore and soon even his voice was gone. I whimpered silently and covered my wet eyes. No matter how many tears I shed I knew that they would never, ever be enough.

"Come... Anabella..." the alien said uttering my name with his low, raspy voice. I panted as I followed the tall alien with long dark hair. I couldn't see the shoes that banged on the floor or the edge of his cape due to the purple mist that covered the floors. I wiped my tears, but more hurtful and warm tears swarmed in my eyes and rolled over my cheeks. I passed my hands on my eyes a couple of times and sniffled.

The purple lights swarmed and changed as I walked passed the corridors. I noticed that plants disappeared from view and that circles replaced their images. I felt like the ship tried to hide something away from me, something I didn't really care about in this moment. I only tried to imagine that my father was well and that Randolph would take him to a hospital and that soon he would think that everything that happened on this ship was nothing, but a dream.

The alien stopped and pressed the walls again. More of the strange symbols appeared on it, but he pressed a single symbol and the wall slid up with a swoosh sound.

"These will be your quarters. They are appropriate for a female being such as yourself," he said. I glanced around, but I didn't really see anything. My mind was just somewhere else.

"Rox will be here to prepare you for our journey. We are leaving shortly," he said.

"Leaving? What do you mean? Leaving Illinois?"

"Leaving your planet. We will be heading back to Sha," he said.

"Sha?" I asked horrified.

"Yes."

"But I don't understand. I thought that you were coming here to conquer our world?" I asked.

"It's already being done," he said showing his fangs.

"What do you mean?" I asked crossing my arms and shivering. The alien then walked towards a nearby wall and touched a few buttons. I felt that the air was less cold.

"I mean it's already in course," he said impatiently. I stared at him quietly. He puffed in some air and then he spoke again as he looked into my hazel eyes. I was too heartbroken to argue with him in this moment.

"You will come into my home and be my slave as we have agreed upon. There you will live with me... forever," he said. I nodded and cried silent tears. A long moment had passed and I thought that he had left the quarters, but when he spoke again I realized that he was still there. However, I didn't look at him once. I stared at the floor.

"Anabella... what a strange name to me. The females of my planet do not bear such a name and yet it rings and fits you well," he said, but I never looked up.

"What you have done is uncommon in my culture. I have never seen anyone give up their life for another. This human quality is intriguing to me and I wish to explore it more. Are all humans the same?" He asked. I shook my head.

"I don't know," I answered.

"In my world to take a life is honorable, but today I have learned that to give a life is more courageous and even so to allow such a deed," he said. I didn't answer. I honestly didn't care what he thought of me. He was nothing but a monster.

"You will address me," he ordered. I glanced up at him with tears. I could hardly speak and when I did my voice almost cracked.

"What... would you want me to say... master?" He looked at me for a moment. Rox stepped into my quarters just after I asked him what he wanted from me. I just wanted to be left alone.

"My name is Brok and you will address me by my name. Is that clear?" he roared and I nodded.

"Prepare her. We are leaving," Brok said. He left the room angered and in a rush. I could care less.